Baseball is a territorial sport. Fans and players are often very personally affected when their team is affected. When announcers are changed for teams, it often has a larger effect on the game than people speak of. In a recently announced change for the Baltimore Orioles, the fans appear to be on the fence about an ‘announcement’.
The Orioles are crushing it in the AL East. Currently, sitting at the top with 70 wins and a comfortable 2-game cushion over the next-best Tampa Bay Rays, they are a shoo-in for the postseason. But despite the team’s performances taking them far this season, the team was in the news for different reasons.
Baltimore Orioles announce Returning Announcer
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The Baltimore Orioles recently announced that their lead play-by-play announcer, Kevin Brown, will be returning to the commentary booth on Sunday. As the Orioles prepare to take on the Seattle Mariners, the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland As, Brown’s familiar voice will be calling out the plays.
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While Brown started the season calling plays for the Orioles, he found himself in some hot water. The lead announcer was taken off the broadcast after a seemingly harmless statistic that he cited during a road game against their division rivals in Tampa.
Brown had mentioned how the Orioles had won more at Tropicana Field this season than the last two seasons combined. The comment reportedly upset some of the team’s ownership and, as a result, Brown has been off the broadcast since July 26. However, with the season winding down, the Orioles seem to have softened their stance.
The fans meanwhile were another story altogether. With the announcement coming in fans were delighted to have the announcer back in the booth.
Fans React as Booth makes his Way Back
The Orioles are in pole position to snag the AL East. And the fans appear to be jubilant with their team’s performance this season. Despite notching more than 80 wins last season, the Orioles failed to secure a post-season berth. but they aren’t taking any chances this year. Despite a packed AL East, they appear to have their goals set. And the fans will undoubtedly be happy with the performances.
With Kevin Brown back calling the plays, Orioles fans seemed to pick a clear side when it came to it. Reacting to the Instagram post, several fans sounded their support for the move.
Said one fan, “Never should?ve been suspended in the first place. Owner is soft.”
Another mentioned, “Today is not Friday, therefore Friday is 3 days too late. Should?ve never been suspended.”
The fans also seemed to show considerable support for the commentator. They made it clear that in between him and the ownership, whose side they were on.
“I don?t blame him if he doesn?t wanna commentate for us in the future,” one fan said.
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Meanwhile, one fan seemed to go even further, “Hope he quits and finds a better team to do commentary for.”
Never ones to shy away from the humor in the situation, fans were quick to pick the funny side of the news too. One fan claimed the situation was the same as a reprimand when we were younger. He wrote, “When your mom tries to teach you a lesson but caves and gives your Xbox back 2 days later.”
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But whose side are you on? Did the commentator unjustly present the statistics? Or was team ownership just being too sensitive about it all?
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